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This study examined two preschoolers' understandings about letter associations during repeated alphabet book read alouds with their parents from a Piagetian perspective. Data for the present investigation was excerpted from a larger study in which six preschoolers, ages 3 1/2 to 4 1/2, read seven picture storybooks and two alphabet books three times each in a multiple baseline design over approximately a 30-day period. Applying the principles of Piaget's clinical or inquiry method, a qualitative analysis of the two children's responses to their parents' prompts or use of the formulaic phrase “—– is for —–” showed that neither one associated representative letters with the beginning sounds of names or other appropriate words. Letters were either associated indiscriminately with objects in the pictures or with words in the oral dialogue, irrespective of their beginning sounds. A psychogenetic theory of alphabet book reading is postulated where children first associate letters with any pictured object, then with selected words in the oral text, and only later with initial sound segments. Implications for research and practice regarding the slow evolution of metalinguistic differentiation at the phoneme level and the influence of genre on parent-child discourse are offered.

Abstract. In this paper we introduce and describe the phenomenon of videogame street art as a specific kind of street art. We consider its materiality and significance, and conceptualize it in the light of a double manifestation of play: the playful appropriation of the city by the artist and the fact that street art encapsulates the act of playing videogames in a visual form. Digital play spills out of our computer screens and occupies the urban space with the explicit intention of involving spectators, who are invited to play in symbolic ways that actualize nostalgic memories of gaming and can be related to a more general "play turn" in our culture. Keywords: Street art; graffiti; videogames; play; city.[es] Jugando con la ciudad: street art y videojuegos Resumen. En este artículo se presenta y describe el fenómeno del street art inspirado en videojuegos como un tipo específico de street art. Se considera su materialidad e importancia, y se conceptualiza a partir de una doble manifestación del juego: la apropiación lúdica de la ciudad por parte del artista, y el hecho de que este tipo de street art encapsula el acto de jugar videojuegos de una forma visual. El juego digital sale de nuestras pantallas y ocupa el espacio urbano con la intención explícita de involucrar a los espectadores, quienes son invitados a jugar a través de formas simbolicas que actualizan recuerdos nostálgicos de los vidoejuegos y que responden a un "giro lúdico" de nuestra cultura.

This article addresses the question, "How do mothers and children in a homeless shelter interact with literacy?" We drew on the theoretical framework of social literacy practices in which cultural context is foregrounded. Data for this qualitative study included participant observation in one homeless shelter and interviews with one shelter's residents and other stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, shelter staff at various shelters, and homelessness experts across Los Angeles County, California. While examining the literacy practices of women and children living in one transitional shelter, we identified three institutions that were part of their lives (a) the public library, in which choice was a major factor; (b) the church, which focused on reading the Bible; and (c) schools, where literacy was tied to evaluative outcomes. Although families were overwhelmingly positive about their participation in each of these institutions and all three were referred to as places for learning, children's talk about reading and writing in school focused on procedures such as daily routines and testing. This may reflect the current mandated curriculum as well as the cost of frequent moves, which necessitate that children learn how to succeed in each new school. This study captures the *As a team the authors wrote collaboratively and have equal authorship. 222Urban Education 45 (2) influence of different institutions on the literacy practices of families in crisis and suggests ways to further support reading and writing for children living without homes.

Faced with issues, such as drought and climate change, educators around the world acknowledge the need for developing students' ability to solve problems within and across contexts. A systems thinking pedagogy, which recognizes interdependence and interconnected relationships among concrete elements and abstract concepts (Meadows, 2008; Senge et al., 2012), has potential to transform the classroom into a space of observing, theorizing, discovering, and analyzing, thus linking academic learning to the real world. In a qualitative case study in one school located in a major metropolitan area in California, USA teachers and their 7-and 8-year-old students used systems thinking in an interdisciplinary project-based curriculum. Through reflection and investigations, students devised solutions and used innovative approaches to publicly engage peers and family members in taking action to address an environmental crisis.